In 2004, coloring process service provider CIPRES Technology Systems was founded by Carlos Prestien; two short years later, the German company branched out and began offering serial production of SLS 3D printed components. Over the years, it’s continued developing color techniques, color units, and solutions for surface finishing. This summer, CIPRES GmbH was formed to take over the original company’s service sector, and also provides coloring and finishing machines for 3D printed components.

At formnext 2018, which opens tomorrow in Frankfurt, CIPRES will be presenting a new industrial dyeing machine: the eCOLOR Type 1/350/1 for 3D printed serial parts and components made out of polymer materials. The company partnered with Thies GmbH & Co. to produce the industrial machine, which was made specifically to treat 3D printed serial components, functional prototypes, and spare parts. The highly productive system offers excellent dyeing results and high reproducibility, in addition to a lower environmental impact and cost.

The new eCOLOR system, which can precisely adapt chemicals and dyes, can run at operating temperatures of up to 140 °C and at maximum 5bar operating pressure. With its user-friendly software and high-tech controller for monitoring each and every step of the process, the system offers what the company calls “perfect process reliability.” The software also helps users define and optimize jobs, according to their application-oriented or technical needs.

The eCOLOR Type 1/350/1 is designed to cover standard production capacities up to 37 liters, and has a packing diameter of 310 mm and packing height of 500 mm. It also has a flexible loading system for small (8 L), medium (19 L) or large (31 L) batch sizes, and all Thies machines comply with safety regulations and pressure vessel codes of various operating sites, such as ASME. In addition, the system’s frequency inverter driven pump allows for an accurate and economic adjustment of the liquor flow and the flow direction, which helps optimize each stage of the dyeing process.

In order to ensure it’s making the strongest products, CIPRES needs the strongest partners, like Thies, which originated in the traditional textiles area of Münsterland, Westphalia over 120 years ago. Together, the two companies are working to complete the product chain in terms of refining 3D printed nylon parts.

“The combination of our complementary expertise in colors, coloring and finishing solutions will open a new chapter in our common history,” CIPRES wrote in a press release. “We will entrance the excellences of this partnership to improve and expand your portfolio.”

In addition to Thies, CIPRES has several other strong partners, such as Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT). which offers automated post processing solutions with its complementary PostPro3D technology. CIPRES is also partnering with Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma, which brings 130 years of color expertise with its soon-to-launch 3D Cosmic range for coloring 3D printed goods, and surface preparation and finishing leader Rösler Oberflächentecknik GmbH. We’re seeing a lot happening in post processing which should bode well for people wanting less expensive better looking 3D printed parts. If we as an industry want to produce high-quality consumer-friendly parts at volume then automation and automated post processing is what will get us there.

Visit CIPRES at formnext this week at booth G38 in Hall 3.1.

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